Joe Cole, Luxury Player

by Joe Cole

ISBN: 9781399637343

Published: 2025-11-06

The long-awaited memoir from England, Chelsea and West Ham legend, Joe Cole 'I want to tell you about how football - English football - felt different for me. For much of my life it felt like I was in the wrong place, trying to play a different tune.' One of the best players of his era, Joe Cole was the teenage prodigy in a West Ham team that challenged at the top of the Premier League and also had to scrap at the bottom. He was a star in both Roman Abramovich's Chelsea that changed football forever as well as England's so-called Golden Generation. He grew up playing football in the parks and cages of North London's estates, and Joe's ability, grit and hard work, took him to the very top. But Joe was often mistrusted by managers and out of step with the style of English football in the 2000s. With honesty and an eye for the absurdities of football, Joe takes us inside the dressing room to reveal it all. From his days at the prestigious Lilleshall School of Excellence and rising...